U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,446,596; 4,672,715; 5,570,498; and 6,901,634 are representative of vehicle body door hinge constructions. Generally, a first bracket on the vehicle body is hingedly connected to a second bracket on vehicle door for movement of the vehicle door between open and closed positions.
As shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,672,715, for example, a coil spring is positioned between a check arm and the second bracket to bias the check arm into engagement with an engagement member on the first bracket. Each end of the spring is seated in essentially a fixed orientation with the check arm and the second bracket, respectively. A problem, however, is that the coil spring is subject to lateral bending as the check arm moves with respect to the second bracket causing the spring to curve in the direction the hinge pivots. This increases complex stresses and fatigue in the spring, thereby reducing spring life.
The present invention endeavors to provide an improved hinge.